Billy Cranston
:For the movie version of this character, see Billy Cranston (movie) Billy Cranston was the Blue Ranger of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Retroactively, he is also referred to as the Mighty Morphin Blue Ranger or Blue Mighty Morphin Ranger, though these are in reference to the show, as opposed to proper labels. Billy is the only original Power Ranger to remain for the entire MMPR series, and is the second longest-serving Ranger overall behind Tommy Oliver. Until his departure, he was considered the brains of the Power Rangers team, creating many gadgets with which to solve problems that not even Zordon foresaw, and even invented the first team's wrist-worn communication devices (it is believed, though not proven, that he created every other communicator up until his departure from the show). The character was also played by Yost in the unaired pilot. Billy also appears in the video game Power Rangers: Super Legends alongside some of his Ranger teammates and was voiced by Brian Donovan. Character history Mighty Morphin Era Billy was one of the five "teenagers with attitude" selected by Zordon to become the original Power Rangers, along with Jason Lee Scott, Zack Taylor, Trini Kwan and Kimberly Hart. Billy became the Blue Mighty Morphin Power Ranger, and was given both the Triceratops Power Coin and the Triceratops Dinozord. Billy began the series as the stereotypical "nerd." His closest friend throughout the series was Trini, to whom he could communicate most comfortably and effectively. He was initially very insecure about himself, making him an easy target for people like Bulk and Skull, who tormented him often in the beginning. The other Rangers, especially Trini, defended him loyally, but Billy later evolved to become a stronger individual. He was one of the top members of Angel Grove High's science club and often helped its younger members with their experiments. One such example was with Willy, a young boy he helped to create a virtual reality simulator for a Science Fair. In the episode "High Five", Billy not only created the communicators, but also the interface that allowed the devices a remote access to the Command Center's teleportation unit. It was revealed that, due to an experience in his youth when he was bitten by a fish during an experiment involving whirlpools, Billy developed icthyophobia: fear of fish. This fear would affect him well into his teens and Rita would use a spell to exacerbate this fear. When he was the last Ranger left able to contend with the Goo Fish monster, Billy overcame the spell and then, after helping to free his friends and defeat the monster, completely overcame the fear itself on a fishing trip with Ernie, the owner of the Youth Center. Each of Billy's teammates had a unique skill to offer the team and, in Billy's case, it was his vast intelligence. He sought out to improve himself physically, and the audience would see him transition over time from the suspenders-wearing "brain" to a confident, hyper-intelligent athlete with appreciable fighting skills, thanks in great part to Trini's Uncle Howard. Jason, and later Tommy, helped graduate Billy to the red belt level in karate. Billy's intelligence would help the Rangers save the world on many occasions. When the Command Center was damaged, Zordon lost and Alpha incapacitated, it was his invention, the RADBUG that allowed the Rangers to travel to the Command Center. He performed a wide array of tasks, ranging from creating the method for which the Ranger's would use initially to infiltrate Rita's Dark Dimension, to disarming the lock-out mechanism for Alpha's activated self-destruct, and many other achievements. Though Billy did manage to attract girls earlier in his "nerd-like" persona, it was after he began his journey toward self-improvement that he would garner more attention from romantic interests, even more so than the other members of the team. Billy was accepted into the Young Scientists of America program. He befriended Zack's cousin Curtis when he became the newest student at Angel Grove High. Curtis' musical interests, particularly in playing the trumpet, sparked Billy's intrigue into the rhythmic patterns of jazz music. Zedd's Invasion When Lord Zedd invaded Earth after doing away with Rita, Zordon upgraded the Dinozords into the Thunderzords; Billy was given control of the Unicorn Thunderzord. When Zordon and Alpha disappeared, Billy was the one to find the secret door where they were making the White Ranger. While most of the other Rangers were disappointed of a new member was suddenly joining them, Billy knew that they needed a new Ranger to help them against Zedd, regardless of who it was. However, he was happy to find that the White Ranger turned out to be former teammate Tommy Oliver. New Friends and Teammates One day, while roller blading in the park with Tommy and Kimberly, Billy unexpectedly met Rocky DeSantos, Aisha Campbell, and Adam Park, and helped them stop a runaway stroller carrying a teacher's baby boy. When Zedd kidnapped the new teens to change them into his own Dark Warriors, Billy, Tommy, and Kimberly set out to rescue them. Billy entered the cave where the teens were being held and grabbed the evil snake that would turn them evil. However, the snake wrapped itself around Billy's neck, and he was forced to remove his helmet to breathe, thus revealing his identity. Rocky, Aisha, and Adam swore to keeping the Rangers' secret and became friends with everyone. When Jason, Trini, and Zack were chosen to attend a peace conference in Switzerland, Billy and the Rangers had to retrieve the Sword of Light to allow the Rangers to transfer their powers. Though Billy was sad to see his teammates leave, he was happily surprised that his new friends would take their place as the new Rangers. When Kimberly fell through a time wrap to the days of the Wild West, she would recruit Billy's ancestor William in the 1880s to become the first Blue Ranger when she assembles and takes command of the Wild West Ranger team in a battle against Goldar and several other time traveling foes. Ninja Quest After the Thunderzords were destroyed by Rito Revolto, Billy and the other Rangers sought out Ninjor, the creator of the Power Coins, to give them new powers. Billy became the Blue Ninja Ranger and controlled the Wolf Ninjazord. It was Billy who was able to use his intelligence to let the Rangers control the Shogunzords and he would personally control the Blue Shogunzord. Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers The Rangers were de-aged by a time reversal spell performed by Rita Repulsa's father, Master Vile. Billy devised a plan to restore the Rangers' proper age using a machine that ran off of the Power Coins. Billy restored himself, but Goldar stole the machine, and Zedd and Rita destroyed all six Coins. With his Wolf Ninja Coin destroyed and his Triceratops Power Coin damaged beyond use, Billy's role changed. He no longer fought as a Power Ranger, but rather acted solely in an advisory and supporting role, acting in this period as a liaison between the Alien Rangers and Earth. Zeo Billy officially retired from active Ranger service, allowing Tanya Sloan (who was sent back in Aisha Campbell's place) to take his place while he continued his support role by creating and maintaining most of the weaponry, gadgets and Zords the Zeo Rangers would use. He traveled briefly to Aquitar to assist the Aquitian Rangers in battling with a race of aliens called the Hydro Contaminators. To do so, he completed a prototype device that Cestro started to defeat them. Upon his return, his ship was diverted by King Mondo to fly straight into the sun. From the Power Chamber, Zordon, Alpha 5, and the Rangers were able to rescue him. Before the Gold Ranger's identity was revealed as Trey of Triforia, several red herrings mislead the viewers into believing that the Gold Ranger was Billy, but when Rocky confronted him with this theory he assured the team that he'd never have kept such a thing secret from them, and had simply been busy working on a never-specified project (most likely the Turbo powers). When Trey returned to Triforia on sabbatical to try to unify his three selves, Billy was selected to assume Gold Ranger's powers. However, the "negative proton energy" that his body had absorbed in the Command Center's explosion prevented him from taking the powers. Instead Jason, the former Red Ranger (who, being nowhere near the Command Center at the time of its explosion, was a safe choice), received the powers. Billy was last seen to be suffering from accelerated aging because the regenerator he used to restore his proper age had a side effect. To counter this, he traveled to Aquitar for a cure from their Eternal Falls (analogous to the Fountain of Youth), and opted to remain there with Cestria, a female Aquitian with whom he had fallen in love. Super Megaforce Billy and the other Mighty Morphin Power Rangers returned as part of the army of Legendary Rangers led by Tommy that helped the Mega Rangers defeat the Armada once and for all, fighting in a huge battle against hundreds of X Borgs and dozens of Bruisers. It is not explained how he returned to Earth from Aquitar. Ranger Forms - Blue Ninja Ranger= As The Blue Ninja Ranger of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Arsenal *Blue Ninja Ranger Power Techniques Underground Movement - Metallic Armor= When the Blue Ranger dons metallic armor, the blue in his suit is metallized while the whites are coated in light silver. In this form he can execute high speed martial arts moves with added metal-like impact. *Metallic Armor - Pink Ranger= In Switching Places, Billy & Kimberly switch bodies. Zords *Pterodactyl Dinozord Arsenal *Wrist Communicator *Power Morpher **Pteradactyl Power Coin }} Legendary Ranger Devices *When the Super Mega Rangers became the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers while fighting against Invidious and his XBorgs. - Dino Charger= As part of SDCC 2015, Bandai released an exclusive Dino Charge Mighty Morphin' Charger set with each Dino Charger depicting four pictures. In Mighty Morphin' Blue's case, it featured his Ranger form, the MMPR title, the Triceratops Dinozord, and the Power Lance. }} MMPR interactive CD-ROM *Billy's birthday was given as April 1, making him an Aries. *Billy's birthplace was given as Chicago, Illinois. *Agreeing with the later Fan Club Video, Billy's favorite food was guacamole cheeseburgers. *Billy was developing theories on gravity manipulation. *Billy was a member of the debate team, the science club, the math club, the chess club, Mensa, and the William F. Buckley Vocabulary Society. MMPR fan club video *Being interviewed, Billy sat in his lab; he had light brown hair and wore a blue shirt and his thin-framed glasses, using absolutely no technospeak, and furthermore using the occasional bit of incorrect grammar; whether he wore a communicator is unknown. *As a child, Billy had started reading very early and had read the newspaper with his dad; then when he went to school, he became interested in science and the world. *Recalling a frightening experience, Billy described fighting Madame Woe to save Marge, his girlfriend at the time; he said it had been hard and scary, but he'd done it. *Billy gave his favorite food as guacamole cheeseburgers, adding that he liked a lot of fast food, such as pizza, French fries, and hamburgers. *Billy said he tried to use his mind over muscle in his normal state, and even when fighting Putties, he'd try to outsmart them to make them injure or destroy themselves; if he had to get physical, he said, he would do it, but he used it only as a last resort. *Billy remarked that being smart could take you anywhere in life, and he said that his intelligence often allowed him to help devise solutions to problems, since Zordon and the other teens didn't always have the answers. *Billy said he was a straight-A student, which would take him somewhere after high school; he planned to move on to college and hopefully become one of the world's leading scientists. *Billy listed honor, respect, and courage as the most important things he'd learned from Zordon. *Talking about her friends, Kim said that Billy was great, because he was so smart, and she would always go to him for help with homework; he was such a giving person, he always helped out. Notes *Billy received a tribute in the credits of his last episode. *Billy was a Red Herring for the identity of the first Gold Ranger. *Billy is the only Ranger to keep a single power for the first three seasons without giving it away or switching colors, and the only "original Ranger" to not be replaced, as he stepped down from his position at the start of Zeo. **Technically, Billy's powers were replaced once, going from the Triceratops powers to the Wolf powers between season 2 and 3. Even though his suit remained the same, the different coin can be considered as a new power. *Billy is the only Ranger to retire from being a Ranger, but not immediately leave the show. *Because of the absence of Yost (he had left the show a few episodes prior to his character's departure, hence his lack of appearance in them), stock footage of Billy was used for his departure and his character was voiced by someone else. He was also the last of the original Power Ranger team to leave the show, although his former teammates Jason and Kimberly would later reappear in Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie and Jason alone in the Wild Force episode Forever Red. Also of note is that, backstage, David Yost (Billy's actor) left the show on bad terms, causing the writers to change the Turbo movie's plot so that the Rangers created the Turbo powers themselves with Alpha 5's assistance rather than by Billy himself. Some fans conclude that during Billy's absences during the misleading plots that made him seem like the Gold Ranger, Billy was creating the blueprints for the Turbo powers. *Billy was the longest running Blue Ranger of all time, having been active for 3 seasons straight. *In Power Rangers: Zeo, his teleportation color is white, as it is the teleportation color for all civilians and/or White Rangers. In Rangers of Two Worlds Part 2, his last episode, his teleportation color is a black molecule, to match the Aquitians' teleportation. *Ironically, Billy is the longest running and arguably lowest ranking ranger of the original five. Unlike seasons such as Lightspeed Rescue and SPD, Mighty Morphin does not explicitly state where each ranger ranks among the team. However, it is very clear that Jason and Zack were the leader and second-in-command respectively. Billy may have been next in line but he never administers the morphing call within Season 1 and there have been separate instances in which Billy went into battle alongside Kimberly and Trini. Both of whom used the morphing call instead of him (even though his Sentai counterpart outranks theirs). *Billy has been turned into a child twice, along with Tommy, Adam, Aisha and Rocky. The first time, he supposedly loses his Ranger memories even though he still has a connection to the Morphin Grid. The second and final time, he and the others keep their memories. *According to IMDb, Walter Jones was originally cast as Billy. However, when he auditioned, he said he thought he'd be more recognizable as the Black Ranger, so he was re-cast. *Billy is the first ranger to show his underwear - boxer shorts. In the episode Power Ranger Punks, Billy sags his boxer shorts while under the influence of the punk potion. Once the effect of the potion is removed, Billy realizes this and hides his boxers. *Billy frequently dressed in clothing that was oversized or otherwise baggy or frumpy, in an effort to cover David Yost's well-defined physique due to him being a gymnast (as he was supposed to be a nerd, and thus, not entirely athletic). This effort was gradually dropped by the second season of MMPR. *Billy is the first Blue Ranger to turn evil. The second one was Tori in Power Rangers Dino Thunder. *Billy is the first Blue Ranger to have an individual evil clone. The second was Tori Hanson of Ninja Storm. *Billy is the opposite of his Sentai counterpart; where Billy is a serious, analytical nerd, while Dan is the immature comedy relief. He however shares his intellect with Zack's Sentai counterpart. *During the 2010 reboot of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, a toy version of Billy was seen with the Dragon Shield. *Billy, along with Tommy, Adam, Kimberly, Rocky and Jason are the only Rangers to appear in more than 100 episodes. *Billy is the first Ranger to wear glasses. Others are Kendrix Morgan, Danny Delgado, Cameron Watanabe, Noah Carver and Kendall Morgan. *Billy is the first Blue Ranger to not join his team in the next installment. This is repeated with Rocky DeSantos and Justin Stewart. *In an interview, it is said that actor Bryan Cranston was the inspiration for Billy's last name. *Judd Lynn had originally intended for Billy to be the true identity of the Phantom Ranger, however this plot was eventually dropped. *Billy is the first ranger to have a fear of fish. The second ranger was Antonio Garcia. *Billy has the same initials as future ranger, Bridge Carson. *Luckily David Yost declined to be in cameo from Power Rangers Super Megaforce as this would lead to a plot hole as he is not supposed to age because he drank from the Fountain of Eternal Youth See also *Akira Shinmei - The first Sentai Blue *William - His great-great-great grandfather, the Blue Wild West Ranger. *Tanya Sloan - His successor as the 5th member in Power Rangers Zeo. *Rocky DeSantos - His successor as the blue ranger in Power Rangers Zeo. Category:Blue Ranger Category:Mighty Morphin 1 Category:Mighty Morphin 2 Category:Mighty Morphin 3 Category:Zeo Category:Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Category:PR Allies Category:Zordon Era Power Rangers Category:Male PR Rangers Category:Intellectual PR Rangers